Five V purchases Totara ownership interest, setting the stage for Totara’s expansion into global HR technology market
- : Totara Learning Solutions
- : 16/06/2020 03:00
Wellington, New Zealand, June 16, 2020 – Totara today announced that its owners have entered into a purchase agreement with Sydney private equity firm Five V Capital, under which Five V will acquire a majority ownership interest in Totara. The operations and management of Totara will remain unchanged with Richard Wyles continuing as Chief Executive Officer.
Since 2011, Totara has remained focused on helping organizations experience the freedom to innovate and adapt to changing circumstances through its open and flexible HR and Learning & Development software.
Today’s rapidly evolving workplace and the strategic imperative of having engaged and well-trained employees, further accelerated by COVID-19, has prompted corporations and organizations to adapt new working practices. Totara’s products – used by over 1,800 organizations like USDA, Indeed, Pepsi, Red Hat, JetBlue, Yamaha, and more – is well-positioned to meet this growing market.
“I am excited to welcome Five V Capital in Totara’s mission to drive a new era of innovation, workplace performance and productivity,” said Wyles. “Five V’s collaborative and growth-oriented approach will accelerate our efforts to build Totara’s presence in new and existing markets – at a time when the demand for remote workforce technologies is growing exponentially.”
Wyles said: “Totara’s enterprise-ready learning management system (LMS), user-centric learning experience platform (LXP), and comprehensive performance management system – which will be released in October 2020 as the Totara Talent Experience Platform – is a formidable challenger and strategic alternative to often over-priced and inflexible HCM systems. We’re here to shake things up for the better and it’s great to have experienced and aligned partners in Five V.”
“We are excited to be part of Totara’s future and to be partnering with Richard and his team,” said Srdjan Dangubic, Partner at Five V Capital. “Totara is a globally ambitious business with enormous potential. We look forward to supporting Totara’s international expansion plans to disrupt the global HR and talent experience markets,” Wyles said.
Vista Point Advisors, a San Francisco-based boutique investment bank, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Totara.
About Totara
Totara builds employee engagement, learning, and performance management technologies that enable large multinational corporations, government entities, and mid-market companies to deliver enterprise-level talent and workforce experiences. Totara’s Talent Experience Platform (TXP) unifies an industry-leading learning management system (LMS), a user-centric learning experience platform (LXP), and a comprehensive performance management system under a single and highly adaptable architecture. Totara’s TXP and flexible architecture gives organizations the freedom to innovate, the freedom to choose, and unlocks critical resources for reinvestment into where it really counts. https://www.totaralearning.com/About Five V
Five V Capital is a growth-focused private equity fund based in Sydney, Australia. Five V has in excess of A$450 million of capital available to partner with leading founders and businesses in Australia and New Zealand. With a focus on B2B and technology-enabled services, Five V’s current portfolio includes Education Perfect, Probe Group, Universal Store, Zenith Investment Partners, RateSetter Australia, Canva and SiteMinder. More information is available at www.fivevcapital.com/- : Richard Wyles
- : CEO
- : richard.wyles@totaralearning.com
- : 043858399
- : https://totaralearning.com
- https://twitter.com/totaralearning | https://www.linkedin.com/company/totaralearning/
NewzEngine extends service to cover media in Australia and the Pacific
- : NewzEngine
- :
NewzEngine.com, an online service that enables companies, organisations and individuals to write and distribute press releases, is extending its reach to include media in Australia and the Pacific Region, as well as New Zealand.
NewzEngine CEO Sarah Putt says the ability to distribute releases to media outlets outside New Zealand is an exciting milestone for the company.
“As with the New Zealand service, the media outlets are segmented, to ensure that press releases are distributed to the most appropriate outlet. We actively encourage our clients to think carefully about what region/sector to select to ensure their information goes to the most relevant media.”
In Australia, locations are divided into the five states and two mainland territories, with clients also able to choose media in the business, education, politics and technology sectors. Two areas of the Pacific Region are also covered – Melanesia (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and West Papua), and Polynesia (Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu).
NewzEngine is also a great way for Australian and Pacific-based newsmakers to reach New Zealand media.
The purpose of NewzEngine is to provide companies, organisations, and individuals with the ability to send professional communications about their activities, products and services in a way that is easy, effective and cost-efficient.
Cin7, a technology company that is a pioneer in cloud-based inventory management software (IMS) and point of sale (POS) solutions, is a regular user of the NewzEngine service.
“We have found NewzEngine to be extremely helpful in getting our message out to relevant media and, by extension, the wider market. From major investment announcements to new senior appointments in our business, it’s proving to be a very useful service,” says Cin7 CEO David Leach.
Press releases are created through NewzEngine’s platform, then quality-checked by an experienced editor before being distributed to a network of journalists and editors. In addition, press releases are sent to global newswires via the MIL-OSI network (a New Zealand-based open source intelligence company), which include Dow Jones Factiva, LexisNexis, Contify, Thomson Reuters, Newscycle, NewsBank USA, Comtex News Network, Emes, and Gale.
Organisations can subscribe to NewzEngine.com as a monthly or annual service or send a one-off press release. For more details, visit NewzEngine.com.
- : Sarah Putt
- : CEO
- : sarah@newzengine.com
- : 0276177235
- : https://newzengine.com
Techweek is on a mission to find out how connected New Zealand is
- : Techweek
- : 11/03/2020
Techweek, New Zealand’s festival of technology and innovation, wants to start a national conversation about how tech is impacting the daily lives of New Zealanders. It is today launching a survey asking people to let them know how many smart devices they have in their homes.
“The number of devices that can connect to the internet is constantly increasing. It used to just be your home computer – now it is a whole range of devices, including tablets, smart watches, speakers and TVs,” says Techweek Chief Strategy Officer Julie Gill.
“We think it’s important to consider how this technology is changing New Zealand households and one of the first ways to do that is to find out how many connected devices Kiwis have,” she says.
The number of connected devices is growing exponentially with the advent of smart homes. That’s when internet-connected devices control, monitor or regulate functions in the house such as room temperature and security alarms.
Gill recognises that while many New Zealanders have the opportunity to embrace new technology, there are households that are missing out, in what is known as the digital divide.
“In the latest Census, 1.3 million households stated they had access to the internet. This was out of 1.65 million total households. While it’s fascinating to look at how connectivity is impacting our daily life now, and in the future, we also have to be mindful that not everyone is able to participate,” Gill says.
“The Techweek2020 tagline is “Connecting our Future” and that includes everyone in Aotearoa – every New Zealander deserves to share in the advantages that connectivity brings. By finding out more about our everyday use of technology we can use that information to contribute to the discussion on how to tackle the digital divide.”
The results of the survey will be released during Techweek2020, 18 – 24 May. Last year Techweek attracted over 46,000 attendees around the country to hundreds of events that showcase technology and innovation. Events this year include Auckland University of Technology’s Creative Technologies Mid-Year Show, Canterbury Tech hosting a ‘Pathways to Tech’ event in Christchurch, and ‘Whānau Adventures in Tech’, a free event for the whole family in Tauranga. You can learn about these events and more at techweek.co.nz.
The survey is on the Techweek website here or check out Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIN.
About Techweek2020
Techweek2020 is a national celebration of tech innovation presented by NZTech. During 18-22 May hundreds of events that showcase the use of technology in Aotearoa New Zealand take place across the country. Techweek2020 is supported by the Auckland University of Technology, Callaghan Innovation and EMA, ANZ Bank and Chorus. Learn more at techweek.co.nz.
NZTech is a not-for-profit membership organisation which is the voice of the New Zealand technology ecosystem.
- Techweek How Connected Are You Image
- : Julie Gill
- : Chief Strategy Officer
- : julie.gill@techalliance.nz
- : 0274585671
- : https://techweek.co.nz
Regional and Rural Schools take out National Digital Titles
- : IT Professionals NZ
- : 08/12/2019
Smaller regional and rural schools from across New Zealand swept the National Finals for the Tahi Rua Toru Tech in-school challenge this year.
The 2019 National Winners were announced at a gala event at TSB Arena in Wellington, following 10 regional finals held across New Zealand in October. The National Finals were attended by the regional winning teams with students coming from around the country.
As part of the Tahi Rua Toru Tech Challenge, teams of 3-4 students find a problem in their local school or community and use digital technologies to solve it. Teams are paired up with tech industry mentors and given support and resources. Over 6500 students participated in the Challenge this year.
IT Professionals New Zealand CEO Paul Matthews said today that “Regional and Rural New Zealand were the winners this year, with winning teams coming from Hāwea Flat near Wanaka, Morrinsville, Rotorua and New Plymouth”.
At the Discovery level (years 0-5), Hāwea Flat School’s Team Happy Hawea took out the title, completing a set of challenges in the fastest time. It came down to split-seconds in the end and was hotly contested.
Morrinsville Intermediate’s Team Thunderbolts took out the First Challenge (years 6-8), creating an app game to encourage fitness by getting the user to move around Morrinsville to scan QR codes whilst seeing the ‘Herd of Cows’ (sculptures) on display within their town.
John Paul College, Rotorua’s Team ShumbaLeon won the Secondary level (years 9-10), created a website showcasing cultural diversity in their school and a platform for students to share their own stories and culture with other students.
And Sacred Heart Girls College, New Plymouth’s Team Red took out Senior Secondary (years 11-13), creating a medication box that sends bluetooth messages to your phone to remind you to take your medication, and has a motion sensor and lock and software designed to reduce under or overdosing.
The Ministry of Education’s Deputy Secretary for Early Learning and Student Achievement Ellen MacGregor-Reid helped announce the winners and was seriously impressed by the level of innovation. “A huge scale of learning has clearly gone on in the challenge. The majority of the students didn’t know how to write any code at the start – and yet that was such a stand-out feature of the innovations I’ve seen,” MacGregor-Reid said.
As part of the National Finals, the Digital Technologies Teachers Aotearoa (DTTA) and IT Professionals New Zealand recognised an influential teacher who has made a huge difference to digital tech. This year the Ali Chivers Teacher Influence Award went to Julie MacMahon from St Hilda’s Collegiate School in Dunedin.
“I’ve known Julie for several years, working with her on bringing about the changes to the Digital Technologies curriculum. She’s an inspiring and energetic teacher who contributes so much to her students and their profession,” Matthews said. “A very worthy choice.”
The Challenge will enter its third year in 2020 and is part of a suite of resources and tools to help teachers and schools implement changes to Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko in the Curriculum in a safe and supported way.
ENDS
About Tahi Rua Toru Tech
Partnering with the Ministry of Education, the IT industry is supporting the introduction of the new Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko (DT&HM) curriculum into schools and Kura with the 123Tech Challenge.
In the challenge, small teams of 3-4 students complete a project-based challenge either in-class in schools, or through a local Code Club. Most will complete it as a classroom activity, but the model caters to both. The 123Tech Challenge is for everyone, not just tech geniuses (although they’re welcome too!). Schools are also partnered with an industry mentor, and the Challenge provides all the guidance and support students need to make a real difference.
Tahi Rua Toru Tech is being delivered by a partnership of not-for profit organisations led by IT Professionals NZ and started in its current form in 2018.
The National Finals were held on Thursday 5th December 2019.
To learn more about Tahi Rua Toru Tech visit https://123tech.nz
To learn more about Digital Tech/Hangarau Matihiko, http://education.govt.nz/digitech.
- All
- : Paul Matthews
- : Chief Executive
- : ceo@itp.nz
- : 021705212
- : https://itp.nz
- https://www.facebook.com/123tech.nz/ | https://twitter.com/123tech_nz | https://www.instagram.com/123tech.nz/
Government’s proposed Landfill Levy increase will have no impact on plastic waste
- : plastic2parliament
- : 28/11/2019
This week the Government announced a long awaited and welcome proposal to increase the landfill levy in order to encourage behaviour change away from dumping to more recovery, recycling and reuse. However, the increased levy will have no effect on the volumes of plastic waste entering the economy, our landfills and the environment, according to plastic2parliament.
“Currently plastics account for around 8% of total waste by weight, but as much as 20% of landfill by volume and that’s an enormous proportion of the waste problem.” said Wade Bishop, initiator of the plastic2parliament letter writing initiative. (Ref. Recycle.co.nz)
“With the landfill levy based on weight there’s no incentive in this to move away from plastic packaging or other avoidable plastics that end up in our landfills and environment.” Wade Bishop said.
Plastic2parliament is encouraging New Zealanders to ask all political parties what their plastic reduction policies are by penning letters to MPs in Parliament, via the Parliamentary free-post address while also stuffing their large envelopes full of non-recyclable plastics to illustrate the plastic waste problem.
“We are asking political parties and Government to focus regulation on the producers of plastic packaging targeted at simply making less of it.” said Bishop.
The global oil industry is currently investing US$180 billion in new plastic production plants to increase production by 40% in the next 10 years. This immense supply-pressure will create a further explosion in plastic volumes here in New Zealand and the increased landfill levy will have zero effect on that. This is an over-production issue that needs urgent regulation where the problem starts: the producers.” he said.
The Plastic2parliament initiative believes that an immediate impact can be made on plastic waste by extending bans across wide categories of avoidable single-use plastics, such as cutlery, dishes, cups, takeaway containers and even bubble and pallet wraps.
The initiative also advocates a Plastic Tax on imported virgin plastics used to manufacture single-use packaging and on imported new plastic packaging.
“While the landfill levy will have a negligible effect on the cost of dumping plastic packaging for New Zealanders, it still gets under your skin having to pay even more to get rid of a toxic waste that you didn’t ask for in the first place.” Wade Bishop said.
Plastic2parliament continues to grow quickly with membership numbers of the Facebook Group reaching more than 1000 people sending more than 720 letters and plastic parcels to MPs since beginning in early October this year, including another 90 to Minister for the Environment, David Parker, this week.
ABOUT PLASTIC2PARLIAMENT
Plastic2parliament is a letter-writing initiative started by Wade Bishop of Christchurch which encourages New Zealanders concerned about single-use plastics to include these products with their letters to M.P.s using the Parliamentary Free-post address. The purpose of the initiative is to creatively emphasise how these non-recyclable products cannot be avoided by consumers and that the actual cause of plastic waste is over-production and use by manufacturers. We seek to have M.P.s advocate for meaningful plastic waste reduction policy within their respective Party focused on packaging producers.
Oil companies are investing US$180 billion right now to increase virgin plastic production by 40% before 2030. This enormous supply pressure has already created an explosion in single-use packaging globally. New Zealand will not be immune to these supply pressures and is poorly placed to deal with the waste volumes that will eventuate. (Ref. theguardian.com; and sciencemag.org)
- plastic2parliament_mailing David Parker
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament
- Twitter: @plastic2parlia1 | Facebook: @plastic2parliament
More than 500 Plastic-filled parcels mailed to MPs
- : plastic2parliament
- :
More than 500 letters and parcels filled with nonrecyclable single-use plastics have now been mailed to MPs in Parliament via freepost.
This week alone, the plastic2parliament initiative mailed over 130 plastic-stuffed letters to NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft to ask if her Party has a single-use plastic reduction policy.
“Plastic waste is essentially environmental change in solid form,” said Wade Bishop, initiator of plastic2parliament.
The plastic2parliament initiative encourages the public to include non-recyclable plastics in their mail to MPs to illustrate the problem.
“The problem with these plastics is that once they’re in the environment they don’t go away but continue to break down into smaller and smaller particles.” Wade Bishop said.
The letters ask MPs to support the Product Stewardship changes to the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (WMA) proposed by the Government which includes many categories of plastic packaging but also ask for bans of avoidable plastics and for all political Parties to have a plastic-waste reduction policy.
“Plastics are now in our water, our air, our food and we now eat about a credit cards worth or more every year. There’s plenty of research making its way into media about endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic packaging and most recently to type 2 diabetes in research out of Australia.” Mr. Bishop said. “One could say that the cost of over-production of plastics is more than just the economics of dealing with the waste alone.” (Ref. sciencedirect.com; and baker.edu.au)
Plastic2parliament is encouraging citizens concerned about the growing epidemic of avoidable and single-use packaging plastics to engage in penning letters to MPs in Parliament via the Parliamentary Freepost address. The initiative asks politicians to focus regulation on the producers of plastic packaging, while urging the public to stuff their large envelopes full of nonrecyclable plastics to make the point.
The plastic2parliament initiative continues to grow quickly with membership numbers of the Facebook Group now more than 900 people since the initiative began in early October.
“People are tired of plastic pollution being framed as a consumer issue, or one that is simply a matter of better collection and recycling.” Wade Bishop said.
“The fact is, it’s more about unfettered production of higher and higher volumes of single-use plastics. It’s a production issue driven by the economic benefits of cheap plastics, which are cheap only because the true lifetime cost of those plastics is not currently carried by those producers.”
The global oil industry is investing US$180 billion in new plastic production plants, over this coming 10 years, with the aim to increase production by 40% from the 348 million tonnes per year presently. Some estimates suggest that plastic waste volumes will quadruple by 2050. (Ref. theguardian.com; and sciencemag.org)
“We already know that plastic waste and pollution is an enormous problem here in New Zealand, and globally. The current investments to increase plastic production exponentially in the face of the problems we already see is criminal. It’s foolish to think that New Zealand will not experience a massive increase in plastics given this mounting global supply pressure.” Mr Bishop said.
Media Contact: Wade Bishop
https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament/
M: 021 432045
E: plastic2parliament@gmail.comABOUT PLASTIC2PARLIAMENT
Plastic2parliament is a letter-writing initiative started by Wade Bishop of Christchurch which encourages citizens concerned about the explosion of single-use plastics to include these products with their letters to MPs using the Parliamentary Freepost address. The purpose of the initiative is to creatively emphasise how these nonrecyclable products cannot be avoided by consumers and that the actual cause of plastic waste is over-production and use by manufacturers.- NZFirst_jennymarcroft_210219_MORE POPULAR THAN SIMON BRIDGES
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator of plastic2parliament
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament
- @plastic2parliament | @plastic2parlia1
Expat Brit Makes Extra $280,000 on Pension by Transferring to New Zealand
- : Lyfords Pension Transfer
- : 10/10/2019
The on-going Brexit negotiations and subsequent demise of the UK exchange rate have left many British expatriots who have moved to New Zealand wondering what to do about their UK pensions.
Should they wait for a more favourable exchange rate, or bite the bullet and transfer their pensions now – knowing that it could get far worse before it improves?
Alison Renfrew, pension transfer specialist at Lyford Investment Management, has been advising British expatriots for 17 years on their options for transferring their pensions. She recommends that with some exceptions, transferring now is probably the better option.
Why?
“Firstly, if you’re worried about the exchange rate, you can keep your funds invested in GBP and convert them into NZD years in the future,” says Renfrew.
“More importantly though; pension transfer values seem to be really high at the moment.
“I advised a client earlier this month that her transfer value had increased by 25% in just six months. She now has another £145,168 ($281,776NZD) to transfer. This is phenomenal”.
Renfrew has not seen such a dramatic positive change in transfer values before.
On the very same day, Renfrew had a conversation with another client about her pension transfer value. She was offered a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) of £59,731, or a pension of £900 p.a.
You would have to receive £900 p.a. for 66 years before you broke even – before you saw any investment returns from your retirement savings.
“It is 100% illogical to accept such a lousy deal,” Renfrew says.
When Renfrew compared current CETVs with promised pensions, she found little incentive to choose to have a taxable pension paid from the UK compared to receiving a far higher non-taxable income in New Zealand based on realistic investment projections.
“What Brits really don’t like is knowing that if they die prematurely their spouse will only get half of the income. In some cases, the spouse gets nothing”.
A major benefit of taking control and investing your transfer value to provide you with a retirement income is that you can access your money if you need to. Conversely, there’s no access to your retirement pot if you’ve elected to take a pension.
“Where is your financial security if you can’t access your money in an emergency?” Renfrew asks.
There are a couple of exceptions, of course.
Renfrew cautions Brits and returning Kiwis not to transfer their pension funds if they are uncertain where they’ll live for the five years after they have transferred their pension funds to NZ, due to tax obligations.
Renfrew further cautions that before deciding to transfer you need professional advice to ensure that all your options have been considered.
“Maybe you are one of the few who have a very attractive pension, and converting to cash would be madness.
“You really need to seek independent advice from a New Zealand investment adviser specialising in pension transfers before making the decision to transfer, because individuals simply don’t have access to the same resources advisers do. It’s important to make informed choices.”
Alison and Richard Renfrew of Lyfords have been specialising in UK to New Zealand pension transfers for over 17 years. Visit their website to find out more.
- photo of the london eye
- : Alison Renfrew
- : Certified Financial Adviser
- : alison@lyfords.co.nz
- : 0800459367
- : https://uk-pension-transfer.co.nz/
- https://www.facebook.com/Lyfordsukpensiontransfers/ |
South Waikato District Council’s LED Lighting Upgrade Ready to Improve Public Safety and Air Quality
- : NZ IoT Alliance
- : 02/10/2019
A smart LED lighting project for South Waikato District Council (SWDC) will be featured by Auckland business NB SmartCities at the IoT half-day conference on Thursday 3 October in Auckland.
The second annual IoT Conference event, hosted by the New Zealand IoT Alliance, will showcase how Internet of Things (IoT) applications are creating smart cities in New Zealand and improving industrial productivity.
IoT Alliance Executive Council member John McDermott says the project for South Waikato District Council demonstrates how IoT technology provides multiple benefits for councils and the public.
“The South Waikato District installation is a standout example of how IoT solutions can provide long-lasting advantages and create new opportunities,” McDermott says.
“The new system is using less than half the power of the legacy street lamps and is providing better lighting for many more local roads. Also important for the council is that maintenance calls have more than halved, underlining the reliability and lower maintenance costs of the new technology.”
The system, which uses open network standard technology, can also support future applications such as air pollution monitoring, traffic analysis, smart parking, and remote water metering.
“South Waikato District Council has received very positive feedback from our community on this improved street lighting,” says Ted Anderson, SWDC’s Group Manager Assets.
“Tangible benefits include people being able to exercise and participate in other outdoor activities, like walking the dog, much later in the evenings especially during winter; and the safety improvements have been highlighted by many of our residents.”
In addition to the SWDC case study, McDermott says the IoT Half-Day conference event will showcase a variety of IoT solutions focused on Smart City and Industrial use cases. “The conference is featuring applications that help deliver better public services, improve health and safety, and enhance manufacturing performance”.
Spark is the gold sponsor for the IoT Conference and Spark Future of Connectivity Lead Renee Mateparae says the company is thrilled to be sponsoring an event that will bring the tangible benefits of IoT to the forefront so businesses can realise what it could do for them.
“The benefits that new Internet of Things technologies deliver are compelling when implemented correctly. They deliver better services, greater value and improve efficiency. Spark is pleased to support the New Zealand IoT Alliance in connecting the people and businesses that are implementing and deploying IoT applications with the decision makers and leaders that need to understand the impact and value that can be achieved”.
Also speaking at the event is Melissa Lee, National MP for Mount Albert, and National spokesperson for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media & Ethnic Communities
The event is supported by gold sponsor Spark and silver sponsor LEAP Australia.
The IoT Half Day Conference is taking place at 12 Madden St, Viaduct, Auckland from 8.30am on Thursday 3 October. For more information and tickets, visit the NZ IoT Alliance website.
- earth-view-from-space-2
- : John McDermott
- : Executive Council Member
- : john+pr@johnmcdermott.nz
- : 0274100079
- : https://iotalliance.org.nz/nz-2019-iot-half-day-conference/
- @NZIoTAlliance | https://www.linkedin.com/company/nz-iot-alliance/
Varidesk Looks To Transform The Kiwi Office Working Environment
- : VARIDESK New Zealand
- : 02/10/2019
Varidesk, a popular international brand that has been making inroads into the New Zealand market, is looking to change the traditional Kiwi office working environment with its innovative standing desks.
These desks allow for an easy transition between sitting and standing when working and feature desk converters that can even transform a normal desk into a sit-stand desk.
Varidesk NZ Director Dave Roberts says having a working environment that involves intermittent periods of sitting and standing can dramatically improve employees’ productivity, happiness and overall well-being.
“We are delighted to bring to market an exciting desk alternative, which will improve the work life of employees and home workers alike,” says Roberts.
“Companies are finding it harder than ever to recruit and retain talented employees. Creating an active workspace that thrives off employee energy and happiness is now integral to attracting the talent you need to grow your business.”
Varidesk standing desks are being used by organisations such as Sanitarium, PowerCo, and Victoria University – and for good reason, says Roberts.“Recent studies have shown using a height-adjustable desk improves mood and boosts energy levels along with health improvements such as reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease,” he says.
Roberts notes that when people first start using a Varidesk they usually notice within a few days that their back and neck pains are either significantly reduced or dissipate completely. Notable improvements also include energy and focus.
“Since using the VariDesk, I’ve had fewer issues with back pain and am finding my posture improving each day incrementally. I’ve also noticed my attention drifting far less and I’m managing to stay focused for longer stretches during the day,” says Dan Grayson, Editor in Chief of Gameplanet.
All Varidesk products are high quality and easy to set up – there’s no flat-pack assembly, and you can be ready to work within minutes.
“It’s now easier than ever to transform your office into a happy, healthy and productive workspace without compromising on quality,” says Roberts.
- varidesk fitout
- : https://vimeo.com/245661801
- : David Roberts
- : Director
- : contact@varidesk.co.nz
- : 072828994
- : https://varidesk.co.nz
- https://www.facebook.com/VarideskNZ/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/varidesk-nz/?originalSubdomain=nz |
World cup for rural connectivity
- : Wireless Internet Service Providers Association of NZ
- :
Saturday’s Rugby World Cup experience shows that New Zealand deserves a Broadband World Cup for getting broadband to its rural communities.
That’s the view of WISPA.NZ, the industry group supporting 28 Wireless Internet Service Providers who collectively provide broadband to an estimated 70,000 mostly rural customers.
“The great news is that WISPs dealt with the surge in traffic almost faultlessly,” WISPA Chairman Mike Smith said. “The problems were with the international link, and with some customer devices. But the part in between worked to perfection.
“WISPs can claim a lot of credit for bringing rural Kiwis in from the broadband boondocks. Tens of thousands of rural homes and businesses now have broadband at city speeds and city prices, with the number increasing daily.
“That’s something we wouldn’t have dreamed of a decade ago. Rural communities in New Zealand have far better broadband than most other Rugby World Cup countries, notably Australia.
“WISPs are committed to finishing the job, with government support, so every rural home and business can enjoy the benefits for social inclusion, entertainment and business. Connectivity to 100% of the community is within our sights.”
ENDS
—————————————————————————————————————————————
BACKGROUND NOTES
· – Most WISPs, or regional telecommunications companies, are locally owned businesses founded in the early 2000s.
· – Initially they used their own capital, but in recent times 17 of them have received government funding through the Rural Broadband Initiative to expand their networks into remote areas that would otherwise be uneconomic.
· – About half WISP connections use “WISP Wireless” – a series of hilltop towers with radios that bounce the Internet signal from one to another, then down to the homes below. The other half are re-sold services from other telcos.
· – WISP wireless requires line of sight visibility. Hence it requires many more towers than cellular services, but these are much lower cost.
- : Mike Smith
- : Chairman
- : mike@ubb.nz
- : 0274503504
- : https://wispa.nz